Emergency illuminating kit



Aug. 11, 193 6. D. B. HYDE 2,050,436

EMERGENCY ILLUMINATING KIT Filed April 25, 1934 Invenror. Dono\d Es. Hyde b ima Maw AT Tys.

Patented Aug. 11, 1 936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE EMERGENCY ILLUMINATING KIT Donald B. Hyde, Framingham Center, Mass.

Application April 25, 1934, Serial No. 722,309

3 Claims. (Cl.- 240-52) This invention relates to pyrotechnical emergency illuminating apparatus for vehicles and has for, its general object to provide an emergency lighting means which is readily stored in a small space and is protected from mechanical injury and from the injurious efiects of moisture and the accumulation of foreign matter thereupon, thereby insuring that the illuminant will always be available and in perfect operating condition.

A further and more particular object of the invention is to provide an efficient compact means for connecting the fusee, or other pyrotechnical illuminant, to, a vehicle for a support while the illuminant burns.

A further object of the invention is to provide a compact sealed container to enclose a iusee, or other pyrotechnical illuminant, together with means for securing the fusee to a vehicle, whereby unauthorized tampering with or removing the fusee, or its connecting member, from the container, is rendered plainly apparent.

A further object of the invention is to provide means, for securing the fusee upon the vehicle, which is compact, rigid, and inexpensive ,to

produce.

These and other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from. the following description and the accompanying drawing, and will be particularly pointed out in the Claims In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a general view of the invention shown in operating position upon a vehicle;

Fig. 2 is a general view of the apparatus illustrating the manner in which the. illuminant is secured to the vehicle;

Fig.3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the protective container with its contents therein;

Fig.4 is an end view of the elements shown in 40 Fig.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a different embodiment of the connecting member used to secure the illuminant to the vehicle, Fig. 6 being a cross sectional view on line 6--6 Fig. 5;

5 Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 8 being a cross sectional view on line 8-8 Fig. 7 and,

Fig. 9 illustrates a further modification of the invention.

50 i Fig. 10 is a partial view illustrating a difierent embodiment of the elements shown in Fig. 2.

j Under present-day driving conditions, with dense volume of trafl'ic and high speed driving, it becomes highly dangerous to stop a vehicle along 55' the side of a road. Under normal visibility other drivers proceeding along the road at night are quite often blinded by the headlights of approaching vehicles, or their eyes become fatigued after driving long distances against approaching traffic. Under such conditions the drivers visibility 5 along the sides of the road is at a minimum and the chances of collision by a passing car with a parked car are apparent. When normal visibility at night is further reduced by hazy or foggy conditions the danger of collision is multiplied many 10 times.

When an emergency arises and it becomes necessary to stop the vehicle at the side of the road, the safety of the vehicle and its occupants must be protected from all possibility of collision with 15 passing vehicles. The present invention supplies the means for insuring safety by providing a brilliant illuminant, of white or colored light, to warn others of the presence of the vehicle at the side of the road. The present invention not only 20 provides the means for utilizing the illuminant, but also insures that it will always be available in an emergency and also that it will always be in operative condition. 1 The illuminant l desirably is a fusee or other 25 pyrotechnical illuminating device. A fusee of the type used by railroads is shown herein which may be designed to burn for a fifteen-minute period, or for whatever period it is deemed necessary. The usual form of. railroad iusee shown 30 herein is provided with a sharpened spike 2 which projects from the base thereof and is adapted to be driven into a convenient support, such as a railroad tie, or the iusee may be driven directly into the roadbed.

The present invention is designed to provide a pyrotechnical emergency kit for use with automobiles, and particularly for buses, trucks, and the like, of public utilities which are driven over paved highways. The paved 40 highways are so hard that it is impractical, if not impossible, to drive the spike of the usual form of railroad fusee into them, or to support the iusee in a position to illuminate the end or side of the vehicle toward the center of the road, or to provide light to enable tires to be changed or repairs to be made. The present invention contemplates the provision of means for supporting a suitable fusee upon the front or rear bumper of the machine, or both, in such manner as to warn approaching vehicles of the standing automobile, as well as to provide sufiicient light to enable the repairs conveniently to be made.

The emergency kit comprises a cylindrical container or carton of moisture-proof material hav- -ing an internal diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the fusee and of sufficient length to V contain a suitable supporting bracket for hanging the container upon the bumper of the machine. The containeris permanently closed at one end and sealed tightly by means of a paper cap 4. Y The other end of the container is closed, preferably by a telescoping cover 5, which is placed over the open end of the container and is tightly sealed by'means of a paper cap, or any other suitable means. The container is slightly larger in interior diameter than the fusee and somewhat longer to provide space at one end thereof to. re-' ceive a device for connecting the fusee to, the vehicle which acts to support it in operating position thereon and which willgbe hereinafter described. This connecting device is very compact and requires little space for storage. The-:as-

'sembled container, and contents, is therefore very compact.

Y Many of the pleasure vehicles of the present day provide limited space for storage. The tool storage'compartment is practically the only storage'space and this space is usually quite small. The compactnessofthe illuminating apparatus above described is therefore of vital importance since one-or several of these units may readily be stored away iii-the tool compartment or in some other limited. space. When so stored away the fusee is' completely'protected by the casing.

There are certain States which require the operators of trucks to have at least one emergency 7 light upon the vehicleat all times. It has been are provided for igniting the fusee.

' end of the fusee is provided with a'groove 8 within whichis receivedasupport or connecting memfound good practice,especially on trucks,to pro vide a convenient rack to hold one or more of the fusees .in a position which is readily available to the driver at a moinents notice. The present invention is ideally adapted for such installations. The protected fusee will remain in perfect operatingfcondition for an indefinite period of time,. and is guarded against all ordinary mechanical injury.

- The fusee l desirably is of usual construction having a telescoping cover 6*to close its outer .end.

The cover is secured in position by a sealed paper cap which is removed by manipulating a tear strip 7. The usual orany'suitable means (not shown) The 'inner material, whose axial aperture l fits snugly over the spike 2 in the'end of the fusee.

The naturalandmost effective way of utilizing the fusee as a protecting device is to place'it directly upon the vehicle. Particularly is this fact I true if the lighting system of the vehicle has enreaching a garage, or some tirely failed. Under such conditions the fusee ma be secured upon the front or rear bumper of the vehicle, thus providing means for safely other situation;where rep'airscan be made. Inorder to secure the fusee to a bumper of the vehicle a special bracket H is provided by means of which the vehicle itself is utilized to support the fusee while it is burning. A desirable form of bracket is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. A section of stiff resilient wire i2 is bent at its central portion to form a U'shaped loop presenting afcircular'sooket l3 which-isadaptedlto receive and substantially parallel relation to form a still body portion M. Each of the ends iii of the body portion'is reversely bent backward upon the body, is spaced therefrom and lies substantially, parallel thereto. The reversely bent ends 55 form a hook portion which is adapted to be hooked upon a front bumper I6, a rear bumper, or any other convenient projecting part of the vehicle.

The plane ofthe loop l3 when supported by its hook desirably is approximately vertical thereby causing the fusee to be supported from the vehicle ina substantially horizontal position. The plane of the loop, however, may be angled slightly iupwardly, but desirably the'bracket should be constructed 'tooccupy aslittle space aspossible, so that it may be readily. packed away in t'hecon tainer.3,.;. 1. V fl .1. Anotherform of thei'bracket is shown in Figs. and 6. I This bracket 11 is constructedofa fiat metallic striphaving a straight vertical body portion l8. The lower end of the body l8 isreversely bent into U-shaped: form. A U -shaped socket i9 is formed in the outer leg 25 of-the U-shaped endto fit the groove B in the sleeve 9, thereby acting'to hold the fus'ee l in positionsubstantially at right angles to, the plane of the body portion l8 of the connection vI'l. The upper end of the body portion 18 is bent backwardly in a reverse direction from that of the lower end This reversely bent portion 2| desirably is spaced a short distance from the body portion and lies substantially parallel thereto. The central'portion 22 thereof may if desired be curved'slightly inwardly tocontact firmly'with the bumper IE, 'or other part of the-vehicle upon which the connecting member is fastened. .J r Afurther modification of the connecting member is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. Inthis .form of the device a section of .wire' is bent atitscentral portion to forma loop .or socket 23which is adapted'to fit;-the groove in the sleeve 9. The upper ends ofithe l'oop23 are bent. backwardly from the plane of the loop 23 to form a pair of substantially parallel legs 24 which act as hooks when placed upon the bumper It to. retainthe sleeve 9 with.itsattached,.fusee inioperative poe sition with theouterend. 25 of theflsleeve engaging the bumpenm A further modification of the. device; isshoWn in Fig. 9. In this form of the device a fiatistrip of metal 26'is' bent into. a closed loop .21. prefereably having square.corners, .the upper portion 28 of which is provided with an aperture 29 and the loWer'portion30 of which is provided with an aperture 3L. The aperture. 29 is. sufficientlyrlarge to receive the shank, of the. spikei2 ofthetfusee, while the aperture Sills somewhat smaller and adapted to receivethe point ofjthe,.-.spike.. J'I'he two apertures are so alined that when'the fusee I6, orqother projeotingpart of the vehi cle-.

1 It will be understood that theparticular embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is of an illustrative character and is not restrictive, zand. that. ,variqusv cha es i term. constru tion and arrangement of parts may be made within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, 'what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is: V

1. A pyrotechnical emergency device for use with an automobile having a bumper comprisin a fusee having a spike projecting from the base thereof, a supplemental base member detachably mounted on said spike provided with a peripheral groove near its lower end and a metal bracket having an upper hook-shaped end to engage over the bumper of the automobile and a U-shaped socket to receive and detachably to engage the groove in said base member.

2. A pyrotechnical emergency device for use with anautomobile having a bumper comprising a fusee having a spike extending axially from the base thereof, a supplemental base member mounted on said spike provided with a peripheral groove near its lower end and a bracket having an upper hook-shaped end to engage 'over the bumper of the automobile and at its opposite end a U-shaped socket to receive and detachably to engage the groove in said supplemental base member.

3. A pyrotechnical emergency kit for use with an automobile having a bumper comprising a fusee having a spike projecting from the base thereof, a supplemental base member mounted on said spike provided with a peripheral groove near its lower end and a bracket comprising a stiff re- 10 rowly spaced apart than the diameter of the cir- 15 cular socket, whereby the fusee may be snapped into position within the socket and held firmly therein, the upper end of said leg portions being bent to provide substantially parallel hooks to engage over the bumper of the automobile. 20

DONALD B. HYDE. 

